Sidekick
by cindella204
Summary: Desperately needing a better job to help her sister, Katniss Everdeen gives up on music and takes a job as a personal assistant for one of the nation's most popular new singers. As she travels around the world with Finnick Odair on his Sea Glass Heart Tour, will she ever stop thinking of the job as a necessary evil and embrace the good that could come out of it? - A Modern Day A/U
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER:**

**There are several concepts, characters, and real life things that I use and/or mention in this chapter that I don't own. These include but are not limited to the Hunger Games, Finnick Odair, Katniss Everdeen, and the Philip DeFranco Show.**

**...**

**A/N: New story. I know that I owe people commissions, and I need to update When Beauty Became A Curse, but I just couldn't get this out of my head, so...this happened. Today was the last day of school, so I'll have more time to write now :) Don't come into this story with expectations regarding update it. I'll write when I can and update when I can, but if you've read any of my other work...yeah, you know.**

**...**

**IN THIS CHAPTER: **Moderate adult language, mentions of suicide

**...**

**PROLOGUE**

May 15, 2013

.

Ms. Katniss Everdeen

1701 Massachusetts Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20036

.

Dear Katniss:

.

Congratulations! We are pleased to offer you the position of **Personal Assistant** with the Los Angeles Branch of Eclipse Staffing, Inc.

We are very excited for you to join our team of enthusiastic, dynamic entertainment professionals. Eclipse Staffing, Inc. serves as a bridge between these professionals and the stars of the American entertainment industry to produce globally-successful media. We hope that you will choose to join our team and enjoy many years of growth and success with us.

The following are the components of your offer:

**Salary: **Your initial base salary will be **$85,000 annually**, payable monthly. For your first three years of employment, your salary may be reduced to no less than **$75,000** as compensation for extra expenses detailed in the attached financial compensation plan.

**Bonus:** You will receive a **$5,000** sign-on bonus to ease relocation costs. After this initial bonus you will be eligible for the Eclipse Staffing, Inc. incentive plan. Your **"target bonus"** will be **15% of your annual salary**. The actual award amount will depend on the company's financial performance and your personal performance each fiscal year.

**Benefits:** You will be eligible for the Eclipse Staffing, Inc. Benefit Plan detailed in the attached summary of benefits.

**Vacation:** You will be eligible for vacations as described in the attached summary of benefits.

**Start Date:** We would like to begin our employment relationship with you on **Monday, June 1, 2013** at **10:00 AM. **If this is not possible due to relocation please let us know.

**Relocation:** You will be required to relocate to the Los Angeles area. Please see the attached relocation summary for details.

Your offer of employment is contingent upon successful results of a drug-screening test and background check.

While we hope that you have a long, successful, and rewarding career with us at Eclipse Staffing, Inc., this offer is for "at will" employment, such that either you or the company may terminate the employment relationship at any time. Laws regarding "at will" employment vary from state to state.

Please acknowledge this offer by countersigning this letter. We look forward to hearing from you soon. If you have any questions regarding your offer, feel free to contact me at (213) 382-9381.

Sincerely,

Christa Collins

HR Director

Eclipse Staffing, Inc.

**...**

**15 May 2013 - The Philip DeFranco Show**

"_'Sup, nation! Hope you are having an awesome Wednesday. My name, of course, is Philip DeFranco, and if you're not familiar, this is where I talk about newsy type stuff and things that matter to me today. And the first thing I want to talk about, nation, is the Finnick Odair suicide scandal. Pop sensation Finnick Odair, originally from Vancouver, Canada, and famous in America for his songs 'Sea Glass Heart' and 'Now' is being considered the indirect cause of the suicide of aspiring actress Miranda Kay after a reference to their breakup in her suicide note. Odair and Kay were in a happy relationship for seventh months before the explosive split at the annual Los Angeles Film Festival. Kay, who was already struggling with her mental health according to a close family friend, went off the grid for ten days before being found dead in her apartment. Photos of a suicide note were released today, which includes the statement 'He was the one thing that kept me getting up in the morning, and now…I'm having a really hard time thinking of any reasons to.' This has led many to make the assumption that the breakup was the straw that broke the camel's back concerning her depression, and, essentially, shit has hit the fan. Personally, although the way he broke up with her would certainly earn him Douchebag of the Day, it's very hard to point fingers and say that a certain person was the reason for something as complex as a suicide, especially in someone with prior mental health concerns. In general, it's just a bad situation for everyone involved, but sending the best of thoughts to Miranda Kay's friends and family left behind. Moving on from that dark story, the Instagram Lady of the Day as recommended by _you_, Nation is…_"

**...**

**A/N: The Philip DeFranco Show is a real thing on YouTube. If you don't watch it, you should. That's how I get most of my news because it's informative and accurate but so much fun to watch. I probably didn't do it justice here.**

**Well, that's that. I hope you liked it? It'd be awesome if you could review and let me know what you think.**

**-cindella204**


	2. 1) The End

**A/N: Review shout outs are being moved to the bottom for this story. This chapter is very expository as well, sorry. We'll really get into content in the next two chapters. Also, because this story takes place in the music industry from now on I will name each chapter after a song that I think embodies the feelings and include a snippet of the lyrics. I recommend using Spotify or YouTube to listen to the song as you read.**

**...**

**Save me **

**(Get me the hell outta here)**

**Save me **

**(Too young to die and my dear)**

.

**You can't **

**(If you can hear me just)**

**Save me! **

**(Walk away)**

.

The End. - My Chemical Romance

**...**

**CHAPTER 1**

**FINNICK**

I push open the door of my office and slide my backpack off of my shoulder, trying not to spill the five-shot caramel machiatto in my hand.

It was that kind of night.

That's when I notice my manager, Johanna Mason, leaning against the wall in the corner on her phone.

"What, Johanna?"

She doesn't bother to look up as she says, "Not a good day to show up late, Odair. Your new personal assistant starts in fifteen minutes and it would be awesome if you could at least pretend to have your shit together. Just for her first day."

"And that's certainly not the kind of thing that you would tell me, I don't know, the day before _at least_?"

This time she looks up and glares at me. "I _did_, but just like anything else I've said in the past two weeks you've been too busy with your relationship drama to notice!"

"Too busy with my relationship drama! I destroyed Miranda to keep from getting blacklisted by the label, and now I'm being blamed for a suicide! I think that's just a little bit more than 'relationship drama'!"

"Either way, Effie and I are working triple overtime to cover your ass, and your response is to treat everyone like _shit_! I get that you're stressed out right now, but God knows that Effie and I have done nothing but sacrifice for you. Hell, I moved to a different country with you without blinking, and you _know_ what it means for me to even be in California after what happened! So do us all a favor and stop with the whiny shit!"

I fight the urge to throw something and take a deep breath. "Did you seriously just play the 'I moved to America for you' card? I think that signals that this discussion is over. When she gets here just go over all the label's paperwork with her. I need an hour."

I walk out without waiting for a response from her and head downstairs to the studio, desperate for a distraction.

A little voice in my head tells me that I should have expected this. You don't experience the heaven of having a single and album debut at number one on Billboard, opening at the American Music Awards and winning several, and having a single go platinum in a month without experiencing some hell.

I didn't think hell would look like this though. I was expecting something like this PR mess, and I can deal with that. What I can't deal with is the fact that the two people who have been with me from the start seem to be slipping away; one just growing incredibly distant while Johanna and I just…fight. Always. We both have explosive personalities, so we've been getting into incredibly heated arguments since university, but then we both forgive, forget, and move on.

Until now.

And I seriously don't know if I can save this.

**...**

**KATNISS**

I take another deep breath. I already got the job, so there's nothing to worry about. Even if this job is out of my comfort zone, it will give me plenty of extra money to send to Prim as a monthly stipend so that she can focus on her classes instead of keeping a roof over her head.

I take one more deep breath and step out of the car.

And almost fall on my face.

I'm still not used to driving this new Audi S4 that they gave me. While I was living in DC I didn't own a car because I simply didn't need one. The only time I went further then the Metro could take me was to go to the Mountains with Gale, and then we'd take his truck. Before that I would drive my dad's old truck because we lived in the middle of the mountains. I've never had a car this low, and it's messing me up, especially with these three inch heels.

_Focus, Katniss_.

I ring the doorbell and a woman in khaki pants and a flannel t-shirt opens the door, making me feel severely overdressed in my business skirt, button down shirt, and blazer.

"Katniss Everdeen?"

"Yes, ma'am." I offer a hand to shake and she takes it.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Johanna Mason, the General Manager, and I'd like to go over a few technical business things with you before you get started."

I keep my mantra, "This is for Prim", running through my head as I walk past a recording booth of some sort to a staircase.

"The offices are all upstairs," Johanna says as she leads me up.

_This is for Prim_.

**...**

**A/N: Thanks to CatnipGirlOnFire, Forget-To-Breathe, BaileyRene, and Guest for reviewing!**

**If you haven't read my other work you should check out my completed multi-chap ****_When Life Became A Game_****. I posted the first chapter of its sequel yesterday.**

**Review?**


	3. 2) A Drop in the Ocean

**A/N: Check out this chapter's song on Spotify or YouTube! ****_Silver Lining_**** by Hurts and ****_Angel With a Shotgun_**** by The Cab are also good to listen to while writing (I listened to those three songs while proofreading).**

**...**

**A drop in the ocean,**

**A change in the weather,**

**I was praying that you and me**

**Might end up together.**

.

**It's like wishing for rain**

**As I stand in the desert,**

**But I'm holding you closer than most,**

**'Cause you are my heaven.**

A Drop in the Ocean - Ron Pope

**...**

**CHAPTER 2**

**FINNICK**

.

**Johanna Mason**

**Where are you? I have nothing else to say to her.**

I open Johanna's text message and send her a quick reply.

**Lab. She got her keycard, right? Just send her here.**

It takes Johanna a minute, but she eventually says:

**Fine, she's on her way. And she doesn't know who you are yet.**

I don't bother to respond and return to the piano. I generally prefer the guitar, but for certain things the piano just has a better sound. I'm not in the mood to write anything anyway, so instead I find myself playing my way through the playlist that I've had on repeat for the past week.

I hear her the second she walks in, but I don't acknowledge her right away. It sounds like she's having a hard time walking in the heels she's wearing, and the _clip-clop_ echoes slightly even with the state-of-the-art acoustics in this room.

I switch my focus back to the piano in front of me deciding to finish this song. It's almost over anyway. Effie's words ring in my head.

_Chin up, smile on._

I stand from the piano bench and walk to where she is standing about ten feet from the piano, offering a hand.

"Hi. Finnick Odair, nice to meet you."

She takes my hand carefully and nods. "Katniss Everdeen. Nice to meet you too. That was…nice. I didn't realize that you played the piano."

"I never played it much until recently. I've actually been playing since I was little, but I stopped when I started playing the guitar. Anyway, this is the lab, which is where I write most of my music. It's also my sanctuary in a lot of senses…did Johanna explain the keycards to you?"

"Not really. She gave it to me and told me I'd need it to get in here, but that's pretty much it."

Oh, so that's why it took her so long to respond. She hadn't given Katniss her card until I brought it up.

"Okay, well instead of having keys we have cards because it's easier to give everyone access to different things. You have the only other card that unlocks this room. Johanna's going to be pissed when she realizes that I revoked her access, but I like to keep it to only one other person. This is my creative space, and I tend to come here when I want to be left alone. And she's pissed anyway, so that's not a big deal."

"Have you known her for a long time?" Katniss asks hesitantly. I feel guilty for forcing her into a fight between Johanna and I already, but if she's here to stay she should probably get used to it.

"Yes, longer than anyone else. I met her on my first day of university when I was nineteen. We had Introduction to the Environmental Sciences together because she majored in Forest Sciences and I double majored in Advanced Music Performance and Oceanography. I had to record an EP for my final, and that's when I was offered a record deal here with Capitol. I told her I was moving to Los Angeles after graduation and she screamed at me for at least an hour, but the next day she sent me a text message with a photo of her immigration papers and the caption 'I'm coming with you.' And that was that."

"Immigration—oh right, you're from Canada."

"Yeah, we went to school at University of British Columbia. She's actually from here in California, but she moved to Canada for school. I'm from there."

"And you've managed to stay close this long?"

I give her a dry smile that probably comes out more like a grimace. "Yeah. We're closer than siblings, but we fight like them too. You should probably get used to this situation."

"Noted," she says quietly, and I decide that it's probably a good time to change the subject.

"Anyway, I'm going to give you a quick tour of the building, introduce you to our full-time staff, and then I'll have to see what we're actually doing today."

I walk to the side door and slide it open. Downstairs we use all Japanese sliding doors just to save space, which is severely lacking in the recording booths.

"This is the living room recording booth. It has the same technology as our traditional setting, but it's just a more comfortable space. I have to be careful when I sing in here because I generally don't have good posture sitting on a couch, but it's nice for a more relaxed natural atmosphere. And it's completely sound proof, which makes it nice for…other things." I drop a sugary wink with that and Katniss flushes. I'm not feeling flirty in any way right now, and it shows with that pathetic attempt at a joke, but I can hear Effie scolding me on the importances of appearances, so I pretend. Badly.

I move into the next room, our traditional studio. "Traditional recording setup. It's not that interesting." I keep walking out to the lounge, which hasn't been getting much use as of late. We've all spent the past two weeks locked in our offices, including meal and break times. "Break" it's just doing something that's not strictly work related on our computers.

"This is the lounge and the kitchen. Both of which are open to you whenever you're interested."

She nods.

"Okay, now for the interesting part. Upstairs to meet everyone."

She looks noticeably nervous when I say that.

"They're nice, promise."

She doesn't respond.

Once we're upstairs I remember that Effie asked me to go get the certification records yesterday, but I ran into Johanna on the way and, well, it never happened.

"One second, I need to stop in the conference room."

On the way to the file cabinet I swipe a sugar cube from the box sitting next to the coffee maker before holding the box out to Katniss, more to see her reaction than anything else.

"Want a sugar cube?" I ask, letting my voice drop just enough to make it seem suggestive.

She was staring at something on the photo wall, but her head snaps back to me when she hears my voice. "Uhh, no thanks. You keep sugar cubes in your conference room? Just to…eat?"

"Effie, my PR, is a coffee addict, but with the PR mess going on right now she's been needing more and more coffee and having less and less time to go to Starbucks and get it. We've convinced her to settle for blonde roast with about ten sugar cubes and a shot of cinnamon syrup. The smell drives me crazy because I don't drink coffee that's not espresso, but I can't really complain since it's my fault she's working so hard. And then I can eat the sugar cubes. Sometimes they're the only sweet thing in this goddamn business."

As soon as the words are out of my mouth I want them back. I know objectively that Johanna was right about me needing to have my shit together even if she only said it as a sarcastic insult. And according to Effie the stupid "Chin up, smile on!" thing _always_ applies.

I can _feel_ Katniss staring at me without looking at her. I go back to the file cabinet and grab Effie's files before walking past Katniss to the door.

"Got it. Time to go meet the staff."

**...**

**KATNISS**

When I get back to my new house I immediately find the bedroom and crash. The space is setup similar to a loft apartment, and it was included fully furnished when I got the job. It's great because housing is super expensive in this area, and that significantly cuts down my living expenses. It's not so great because I live two miles from my boss in Hollywood Hills, and I'm pretty sure that's it's technically still on his property, meaning that I can never escape work. I check the time and see that it's eight o'clock. Although this is my third night in LA, my body's still on eastern time, meaning that I'm waking up ridiculously early and then finding myself exhausted at seven o'clock. I'm ready to go to bed, but I decide to check my email first, just because it seems like the right thing to do. The brand new iMac in my bedroom is already on, and I see that there is one new message.

It's from Prim, so of course I open it.

.

**From: Primrose Everdeen peverdeen at med. yale. edu**

**To: Katniss Everdeen keverdeen74 at gmail. com**

**Subject: First Day!**

_Hey Katniss!_

_You said today was your first day at your new job, right? I want to know ALL the details: what it's like in California, what all your co-workers are like, and what exactly you do (you never told me), STAT!_

_Love you! :3_

_- Prim_

.

Ugh. As much as I don't want to type out my day right now, if I do it'll be waiting for her when she checks her email tomorrow morning, and she'll like that.

And after all, this whole thing is for Prim.

.

**From: Katniss Everdeen keverdeen74 at gmail. com**

**To: Primrose Everdeen peverdeen at med. yale. edu**

**Subject: RE: First Day!**

_Hey little duck :)_

_You're right, I didn't really tell you what I'm doing now, did I? Well…I'm a personal assistant._

_For Finnick Odair._

_Yes, the Finnick Odair. Sea Glass Heart, all that jazz._

_I'll give you a moment to absorb that._

_._

_._

_._

_Okay, since I know you're going to ask me what Finnick's like, he's…confusing. I guess I can't really tell you what he's like yet. I can tell you he's not a super conceited womanizer jerk like the media pretends he is sometimes. That's pretty much it. I just…don't know yet. I'll let you know when I do._

_As far as my other co-workers, I met three today. First was Peeta who does graphic design and other tech stuff. He's from Shenandoah like us, Harrisonburg more specifically, which was cool. He had a picture with his family at Massanutten on his desk. He seems really nice. Effie is Finnick's PR manager and she's…different. She dresses absolutely crazy and has this super strange accent, but Finnick swears that she really cares about the whole team and does her job better than anyone else could. And then there's Johanna. She's Finnick's manager. I don't think she really likes me, but I can't be sure yet. Her and Finnick have been best friends for years; she actually moved to LA from Canada so that she could stay with Finnick, and supposedly they've never been romantically involved. He says that no one likes her when they first meet her, and she doesn't like anyone either, but once you get to know her she's a really great person. I don't know._

_So that's what I'm doing now. I'm super tired, so I'm going to bed. I'll send you something about what I'm actually doing tomorrow._

_Have an awesome day, Primmy._

_-Kat_

I click send and get into bed.

**...**

**A/N: Shouts to **BaileyRene**, **Guest**, and **toritwilight504** for your very kind reviews!**

**Finally getting into some sort of story/plot! A lot, lot more in the next chapter.**

**Review?**


	4. 3) I Don't Care

**A/N: I have BIG BIG BIG BIG NEWS for you guys! *drum roll* I've created a tumblr with songs, photos, and inspiration for this story! It's really fantastic and it can be found at sidekickbts. tumblr. com so you all should go check it out and listen to the song(s) for this chapter there as you read.**

**I was at camp with no internet and when I got back I saw all these reviews and follows and favorites, and that made me really happy. So thank you. Also, I finished this chapter while I was there, so yay! :)**

**Disclaimer: Opinions on immigration, the institution of marriage, and others are fiction to fit my characters and are not necessarily my opinions. Don't yell at me if you don't agree or you think it's offensive.**

**...**

**I don't care what you think**

**As long as it's about me**

**The best of us**

**Can find happiness in misery**

I Don't Care - Fall Out Boy

**...**

**CHAPTER 3**

**KATNISS**

I walk into work the next morning with a tray of Starbucks coffee. I've never bought anything there, but I saw Finnick with it yesterday and he mentioned Effie drinking it, so I figured it would be a nice gesture to casually ask if anyone wanted something while I was on my "morning Starbucks run". And they all did. It's oddly silent as I put down the coffee and push the button for the intercom.

"Coffee's in the conference room."

And suddenly the office seems alive again as I hear papers shuffling and people moving.

Effie's first, and she comes hobbling into the room in her six inch heels to grab her drink.

"Thank you so much, sweetheart! They understood it, right?"

"They did, you were right." She insisted on ordering something super complicated off of the "secret menu". I, not familiar with Starbucks' regular menu, never mind the secret menu, just took her word for it when she said that they'd know exactly what she was talking about.

"Oh, and Megan said hello. The barista?"

"Oh, of course. She's a good friend. Thanks again, Katniss."

With that she walks away and almost runs into Finnick and Johanna who are engaged in what seems to be an intense, but civil conversation. Apparently all the Starbucks stores in Hollywood stock some kind of maple crunch topping that's generally a Canadian exclusive just for him.

The perks of being famous.

Finnick breaks off as he grabs his cup. "Thanks, Kat. My office in ten minutes?"

I consider correcting him on "Kat", but him and Johanna have resumed their conversation and started walking away from me before I can.

I don't do nicknames. Granted, he's my boss, so maybe it's good that I couldn't correct him, but…ugh.

"You drink Starbucks? I'm surprised. I didn't start drinking it until I started here. And I'm still relatively plain compared to them." Peeta comes and gets his drink, a tall cappuccino. Even I've heard of those.

"Nope, but there's a first time for everything. The baristas were nice and recommended something for me, because I don't even drink coffee that much. And they seemed surprised when I just ordered something off of the menu instead of customizing it."

Peeta smiles. "People complain that most of the Starbucks stores in Hollywood are really slow and have horrific service, but very few people in this area actually order off the menu. I don't know if it's all the rich and famous people or what, but each time I go into a Starbucks I hear three different drinks that don't exist to anyone but that one customer. It must be a lot of stress for the baristas."

"This one was nice, but it was probably the fifth or sixth closest to here because the closer ones all had two or less stars on Google Maps. I actually look at stuff like that. At least until I get used to the city. In DC I knew all the best places so it didn't matter."

"It's certainly different, but you'll get used to it. When I first moved here I knew absolutely nothing about California, and it was a _huge_ culture shock, but now I'm pretty much assimilated. It just takes time. Anyway, the label's been driving me _crazy_ about how all of my tour merch designs need to be ready by Friday, so I should go back to work. It was good to talk to you, Katniss." He gives me one more smile before he walks out of the conference room to his office across the hall.

He's different from the rest of them. I'm not sure if it's because he's from Virginia too, but there's something that's just…different.

There's no way that's it's been ten minutes yet, so I take my stuff back to my office and check the schedule for today.

**Finnick and Katniss Impression Appointment**

**9:30 AM**

**Rock Star Ears (30 min drive)**

It's 8:58. I hesitate for a second before going to knock on Finnick's door. I'm not trying to be late to my first appointment in this job, even if I have no clue what an "Impression Appointment" is and what it has to do with having "Rock Star Ears".

Finnick opens it and I see Johanna sitting in the corner, although she looks away and pulls out her phone as soon as she sees me.

"Yeah, I know, we need to leave. One second."

He goes back to his desk and grabs his phone and coffee. "We'll finish this conversation later, Johanna."

"As soon as you get back. This needs to get settled ASAP."

"No. I literally have time to drop her back here and then I have to be back on the road to go do a bunch of press. I'll call when I'm done."

"If you're so rushed shouldn't you take separate cars?"

It's a valid question, but Finnick doesn't even try to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"I have to go into downtown, so I'll pass here anyway. Talk to you later."

Finnick slides past me and walks down the stairs.

"You're standing in the middle of the doorway, _Kat_."

I can't help but pin her with a glare before walking out. Finnick is in the kitchen standing in front of the microwave, which is on. He must be making breakfast or something.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to leave you with a pissed off Johanna. That probably wasn't fair."

"You're good. It was only second before she told me I was in her way and we both left."

The microwave beeps and Finnick grabs his food.

"Okay, let's go before we're late."

Finnick pulls out his keys and the lights on a blue BMW convertible flash.

"BMW?"

"I insist on driving myself everywhere and parking a Maserati in downtown LA probably wouldn't end well. And I'm just not into cars. All that money went into the two multi-million dollar properties in Canada."

He has _two_ houses in Canada? But he spends most of the year here, doesn't he? Unless he has even more houses here.

"And how many here?"

"One, where I spend a majority of the year. I was deciding between a beach house in West Vancouver and a penthouse apartment downtown, but I ended up not having to choose after I started getting paid for Sea Glass Heart. Speaking of Vancouver, you wanna come with me?"

"Umm…when? And why?"

"Not this weekend, but next. And because I'm going, and I was wondering if you wanted to come."

Finnick pushes the start button and the engine comes to life. Even if it's not what I expected for him as rich and famous as he is, it's a _nice_ car. But so is the Audi they gave me.

"Isn't there…paperwork and stuff? Because it's international travel? I'm pretty sure my passport isn't even valid anymore."

"As long as you've had a passport before we can get it renewed in two weeks if we expedite it. And that's all you need. We should actually have you apply for NEXUS, and then wouldn't even need that."

I don't have the first clue what NEXUS is, but I keep my mouth shut. The only reason I even got a passport was because I needed to fly to a funeral when I was fourteen. It wasn't until after the fact that I realized I could've just gotten a child ID card from the DMV with a lot less hassle. That was when my mom was in her…passive stage, and it was a fight just to get her to sign all the right forms, never mind research what I needed to travel.

"Okay, sure, I'll go."

"Cool. We'll sort all that out tomorrow, and then maybe look at applying for NEXUS too. That's a pain though, because you have to do your interview on the Canadian side, which means another trip up there. I think. I'm a Canadian citizen and a lawful permanent resident of the US, so it works a little differently for me."

Oh right, he's an technically an immigrant. I'd like to see what the die-hard anti-immigration fans would have to say about that. I think we forget how many entertainment stars come from Canada.

"Right. What's that like?"

"I hate election season. There's time when I want to just throw something at my television and scream 'I can't fucking vote!'. Other than that, I can't work for the federal government, I can get deported if I commit certain crimes, and when I leave the States I have to show them my green card to return. Technically they could refuse to let me back in at any point. That's pretty much it though."

"Oh, that's not a lot. Are you going to become a citizen?"

"I can't for just over three years unless I marry an American girl. And when that time comes I'll have to look into how that will affect my Canadian citizenship. The system's super complicated and stupid, so I'll have to go over all that with my lawyer and decide whether I want to do that or not. But that's not for awhile unless I get married, which probably isn't happening because…commitment. For life. Ugh."

My mind automatically goes to the Miranda Kay incident and I quickly push that thought away. That won't help anything.

"Right," I say as evenly as I can manage. I admittedly don't really want to get married either, but I sure as hell don't spend my time leading a bunch of people. "Of course."

**...**

We arrive twenty five minutes later. Finnick pulls open the door to the building and motions for me to enter before following.

"What exactly are we doing here?"

"Any chance you're familiar with in-ear monitor technology?"

A pang of homesicknesses hits me when I think of my year working at Nightlock. All the singers shared a cheap pair.

"Yeah, why?"

"We're getting impressions done so that we can both get a new personalized set. Me because I'm upgrading to a better model, and you because I think they're going to be using a combination of them and theatre mics for management and tech staff. Some system with dead-mics and backstage communication."

"What? I don't get it."

"It doesn't matter now, but basically they put pink stuff in our ears and then put it in a box for us to mail to the company."

"Right, okay." At a certain point it's not even worth it to ask questions anymore. I follow Finnick into a small suite with two chairs and a secretary that I automatically don't like from the way she's looking at Finnick. Apparently he notices it too, because from the way he takes him sunglasses off I can tell that he's switched to the 'sexy mode' that I've only seen on television.

Oh dear Lord.

"This was a nine thirty appointment, right, Kitty?"

_Kitty_? He did not just call me _Kitty_. The retort is half way out of my mouth when I remember that I'm in public and reprimanding my boss in front of this…woman probably wouldn't be a good idea. So I swallow the sarcasm and reply, "Yes, it was…and have you been wearing the contacts all day?" His eyes are a chocolate brown that I don't remember seeing earlier.

"Maybe," he replies with a wink and walks over to the secretary, who immediately starts adjusting her blouse so that more of her cleavage is showing.

_Ugh_.

Finnick walks up to her and almost _purrs_, "Finnick Odair, Katniss Everdeen, nine-thirty, impressions."

The secretary giggles. "Yeah, I know. I'd recognize you anywhere, hun, contacts or not."

He smirks. "Aww, I'm flattered. It's always nice to find fans outside of concerts."

They go into a sickening banter and I pull out my phone, trying to tune them out. Regardless, I don't miss when Finnick says, "Hey, I'm free now, and the first girl's dead so she won't be jealous that I've moved onto something better."

And he winks. He fucking _winks_.

And then the bitch laughs and tells him that "Frances" is ready to see us.

"Come on, Kitty."

I stand up and follow him without a word into a studio where a woman is waiting for us.

"Good to see you again, Finnick. And you must be Katniss."

"Yes, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Did Finnick tell you anything about what I'm doing today?"

"He said you'd put pink stuff in our ears and then put it in a box so we can get in-ear monitors."

"So basically, no. Well, Finnick's done this before so I'm going to make him go first and explain what exactly I'm doing as I go so you can see it before I do yours, okay?"

I nod, not really in the mood to talk anymore.

"Finnick, sit."

I prepare myself for some kind of stupid flirty remark but he simply nods sits down and asks, "Do I need that bite block again?"

Every trace of the sex god Finnick that I saw with the secretary is gone. Which means that he did a full one-eighty in less than sixty seconds.

"Yep, but let me check your ears first."

She pulls out a flashlight and starts to look in his ears. "This is just to make sure that there's nothing in his ears to get in the way and that there aren't cuts or anything that could be irritated. He's good, so we can go ahead and start." She goes to the cabinet and pulls out two white foam squares. "This is the bite block that he mentioned. You bite on this while I do the impressions because the position your face is in biting on it is closest to the position you'd be in singing or talking, so the monitors will fit better."

She hands Finnick his square and he shoots me a slightly worried look, which I ignore, before he sticks it into his mouth.

"And now the fun part. First I'll put in some cotton so that this doesn't end up going too far up his ear canal, and then I put in the gel. Once this sets it'll be firm enough to make it through the mail so that Ultimate Ears can go ahead and make your monitors."

She picks up the gun, fills Finnick's ears with the pink crap, and then turns to me.

"You ready to go?"

I take a seat without responding and she goes through the process again. It's a lot faster without her explaining everything, and before I know it she's finished. I go back to my phone again. After the waiting period she takes out the impressions and boxes them for us.

"I took a photo with you last time, right?"

Finnick nods. "Yeah."

"Okay, then I don't need to take another. Best of luck with the tour and hopefully I'll see you sometime soon. And it was very nice to meet you, Katniss."

"Thanks, nice to meet you too."

On the way out I pick up Finnick's bite block from the table (God knows how it got there) and throw it away with mine before following him out of the suite. To his credit he ignores the secretary on the way out, but I'm still pissed.

"In the future can you pick up your own crap? I get that you have a personal assistant now, and it's my job to clean up after you, but that was in your _mouth_ and unlike that slutty secretary out there I have no interest in framing it on my wall or selling it on eBay because it has you're freaking DNA!"

Finnick sighs and without looking at me says, "Katniss, would you _please_ chill about the Miranda comment? I didn't actually mean it, but it was obviously what she wanted to hear."

"Are you seriously trying to justify making a joke, pickup line, whatever of your ex-girlfriend's suicide, which was probably your fault by the way, because it was what she wanted to hear? You are _seriously_ that arrogant and glib?"

He suddenly does turn to me and looks actually angry, but I don't really care. "Let's make this really clear, Katniss. There is _a lot_ of shit that went on there that you don't know about, so I'd suggest that you get off your self-righteous high horse with the whole 'arrogant and glib' thing. And just so you know, I haven't gotten a full night's sleep since Miranda died. Not that I was before then, but especially not now. The last thing I need is for you to remind me that it was my fault, as if that hasn't been repeated in the back of my mind nonstop for the past two weeks. In summary, keep your mouth shut about things that you really know nothing about."

I open my mouth but no words come out. What am I supposed to say to that?

"Anyway, I need a favor from you."

**...**

I hesitate before knocking on Peeta's door. My track record with my co-workers hasn't been very good today, but Peeta also seemed the kindest and the most…balanced yesterday. So it'll probably be fine.

Maybe.

I knock.

"Come in!"

As I walk in Peeta looks up from his computer. "Hey, Katniss, how was your appointment?"

"Good." I don't even think about it before I say it. Even if Finnick is confusing as hell, I've worked for much worse people in my ten years of employment, and one of the first thing I learned about "difficult" bosses is that you don't complain about them to other co-workers. It never ends well.

"Good. What can I do for you?"

"Finnick asked me to come explain to you this idea he had for the tour exclusive shirt and the VIP shirt? Apparently he was supposed to send it to you last week or something but he never did."

Peeta's face lights up. "Awesome, that means I can have all of these in the cloud tonight and wrap this up this week. That was the last thing I was waiting on and he kept telling me he would, but he never did. Not that I blame him, because I know he's been crazy busy the last couple weeks, but I was getting worried about finishing these on time."

Therein lies the difference between Peeta and Johanna. The way Finnick and Johanna fight, I have a feeling she'd be upset that her stuff didn't get done. Peeta on the other hand, excuses it and makes the issue about him.

I like him better.

"One second, let me get the iPad so I can draw this straight into Ideas."

I don't know what Ideas is, but I nod. Peeta goes to a small closet in the corner of his office, and returns with an iPad and what must be some kind of stylus.

"Let's see, where did I—there it is. This is Adobe Ideas. I draw all my sketches here and they are automatically uploaded to a site where the label's merch director can see and approve them, and then I use the drawings as a basis for the actual design. Did he tell you if he's wanting these as t-shirts only or if they'll be used for other things?"

"Um, he said something about having the front of the t-shirt made into a poster for the VIP signing or something like that."

Peeta nods. "Got it. Okay, so what is hethinking?"

I try to think of the best way to explain this. The way Finnick originally said it made absolutely no sense, and he had to explain it four times before I finally got that. I don't want to put Peeta through that.

"Well he said he wanted everything to look like it's sketched and handwritten, to start. A very 'organic' feel."

Peeta nods and writes a note on the iPad. I guess he's drawing it as I explain.

"It starts with pieces of sea glass arranged in the shape of a heart in the center of the shirt or poster."

Peeta starts drawing and even though he's only drawing simple shapes I can automatically tell that he's an artist. You can see it in the way he controls his strokes.

"And then they're different for each show. The example he used was Paris. So the heart is colored like the flag of the country is superimposed on it. So it would be the French flag."

"So I'll have to submit a separate design for each country. Great. I can probably hand draw the base and then just Photoshop it, but it's annoying when I'm starting this way later than I should have because he didn't get me the stuff. Is it blue, red, white or blue, white, red?"

"Blue, white, red."

Peeta finishes the coloring. "Any text?"

"Yeah…he wanted the city and the date of the tour written in the language and format of the city. So for Paris it would be 'Paris' and then 'le 13 julliet 2013'. No, I don't know how that's spelled. Apparently he took French in school, but I did not."

"Oh dear _Lord_, Finnick. In black?"

"Yeah, and a handwriting font."

He adds in the text. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it, well, for the front. And the posters."

"Okay." Peeta types more information into the iPad. And then starts a new document. "The back?"

"A lot simpler. The Finnick Odair logo, then the logo for the tour, and then the city and country, or city and state in the US."

"Colors?"

"Umm…I think it was black for his logo, the colors of the flag for the tour logo, and he didn't say for the city and country.."

"I'm going to assume black then, but depending on the color of the shirt…ugh. I've been designing for Finnick since the Scrapbook EP when he was still in school. On one hand it's awesome to be designing things that will be seen by millions and millions of people, but on the other hand I've been doing so much of it lately with virtually no support that I'm starting to get a creative block. The three of them are all busy doing press and PR because of this whole Miranda mess, so no one's really thinking about the tour but me, and then I'm just sitting here churning things out that I don't even care about to meet the stupid label's deadlines. Anyway, I'll stop whining now, but it's been rough. Ideas would be lovely if you have any."

Poor Peeta. He seems to be the suffering in silence type, which no one else in this office is. Hell, I'm not either. But if there's one thing I learned growing up it was that pity isn't worth crap to anyone. Solutions are.

"Well if you're incorporating sea glass and sketching, why not a beige paper texture that almost looks like sand?

Peeta looks up at me for a just a little too long and I wonder if that was a really stupid idea when he says, "My god, that's brilliant, Katniss. I'll hit up an art store on the way home and then I can start sketching that base tonight."

"Thanks. I'm glad it…helped." And I'm glad to finally do something right today.

**...**

**FINNICK**

My phone's ringing. I know it's Johanna, and I really don't want to talk to here, but if I ignore her calls she's going to be even more angry when I finally do talk to her.

Pain now or pain later.

"Hello?"

"Finnick, where the hell are you?"

"My house, why?"

"You're _house_? It's one-fifteen!"

"Yes, Johanna, I'm aware of the time. I had to come home and get my glasses. Apparently something got into my clear contacts, because my eye is totally irritated now. I was literally crying throughout both of my interviews today. So I came to get my glasses."

"How would that happen? You were wearing them all day."

"I switched to the brown ones to go to that meeting with Katniss, and then switched back when I dropped her off. Something happened to them though, because my right eye is totally jacked up."

"Maybe because they were on the floor for an hour, brainless."

"What?"

"I didn't know what they were at the time. I saw what must have been your contact case on the floor in your office. The way I closed it is hard to explain, but they would have ended up back in there. And then I put them on your desk and moved on."

That's just fantastic. "Great. Now I'll probably get some kind of fungal disease from having my dirty contacts in for hours."

Johanna snorts. "Didn't you do the same thing on tour once?"

"No, that time you spilled _soda_ on them and decided to just leave them and not say anything to me."

"And that's when you decided that I would be the perfect person to be manager."

"Shut up, Johanna. I seriously wanted to kill you for that, but I need someone to take care of all this business crap, and you happen to be good at it. Remember your place, _sweetheart_."

Johanna laughs, and it strikes me how long it's been since I last heard it.

And just how much I've missed it.

**...**

**A/N: Shout to purplerosefromyou, toritwilight504, BaileyRene, Beautifulmagic13, Aliyaahhhh, and Guest for the reviews. Six of them! That's so awesome, thanks so much!**

**I love you all. Go check out the tumblr at sidekickbts. tumblr. com.**

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